Because one-size-fits-all designs usually aren’t universal.
Cats tend to have very specific needs and desires. While dogs will eat just about anything off basically whatever, our feline friends are typically on the pickier side. They like certain foods and flavors, and above that, they prefer certain bowls and plates for their meals, as well.
Because a cat’s whiskers are hyper-sensitive, their food and water bowls can’t be too deep. Otherwise, their whiskers will bend and brush against the sides of the bowls, and they can’t enjoy their meals as much as they would like.
Being this is the case, many manufacturers offer varying bowl designs to fit the needs of every kitty. Here are some of best designs on the market currently:
Wide Food Bowl Stand
As mentioned above, cats’ whiskers are very sensitive, so most standard pet-feeding bowls don’t do the trick. They may hold a lot of food, but if a cat can’t get its head in deep enough, the food will simply continue to sit there, and your furry friend will still be hungry. The Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl with Stand helps with this issue because of its wide design. You can pour enough food and water in the bowls so that you can forget about filling them for a couple of days, and your cat can eat till it hits pan. It’s also low enough to the ground that your furry friend doesn’t have to strain its neck trying to get to the bottom, which is a problem with most universal bowls.
Standard Ceramic Bowl
To keep things simple, you can still get your kitty a ceramic feeding bowl like you would a dog, but you just have to make sure that it’s wide and has shallower edges. Ceramic cat saucers are sold pretty much everywhere, and they’re just as affordable as dog bowls, too.
Elevated Cat Ceramic Bowls
If you love the look of an elevated bowl, you can still buy your kitty a standard-heighted design, but just make sure it has a tilt. Cats have pretty short legs, unlike dogs, so most one-size-fits-all bowls don’t actually work for them. But when the design is tilted, the food and water can fall toward the cat, so they don’t strain, and their whiskers don’t get in the way. The bowls also tend to be a bit shallower, which also helps with the whisker situation too.
Raised Single Cat Bowls
If you like standalone bowls, a raised cat bowl is the perfect fit for you and your furball. They tend to be very shallow, so your cat can really get to the bottom of it, and they can truly enjoy their meals. The bowls are really raved about, but the one downside is that they do have to be refilled every day – maybe every other day. But if your cat can’t get to its food in a regular bowl, you’re probably refilling that frequently anyways.
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Larissa Hamblin is a digital writer based in Brooklyn.
